Community: Florida: Miami

The Housing Partnership of North Miami provides a unique homeownership resource to North Miami homebuyers

Thirty-three North Miami residents
learned about and discussed money management, credit reporting, mortgage
requirements and the process involved in successfully buying and
maintaining their first homes, during the eight-hour Homebuyer Education
Training that was held at the NANAY Community Center
last June 16, 2007.

”I am so proud that the attendees are making an effort to be on the
road to homeownership, and taking the responsibility, “says North
Miami Mayor Kevin Burns. “I am really excited that we are finally
making this a reality, and it will be more exciting when we can hand
down the keys and see them walk into their first homes or townhouses
in the near future. Sometimes it is easier to get the house, but it
is much harder to hold on to it. Foreclosures are at an all-time
high right now, but hopefully we can prepare them through NANAY’s
great staff and the groups that are working with them to make sure
that they have the proper knowledge that they need to own and
maintain their homes.”

“We’ve always been talking about affordable housing,” says Bennie
Trinidad, NANAY Executive Vice-President and Chief Operating
Officer. “It is here. It is real. There are now at least 8 people
who have been pre-qualified and ready to purchase,”

The Homebuyer Education Training is part of the North Miami Community
Redevelopment Agency’s initiative to provide affordable housing to
low and moderate income families in the city.

The North Miami CRA recently signed a contract with the Housing
Partnership of North Miami, made up of NANAY-CDC, Neighborhood
Housing Services and Little Haiti Housing Association, now in charge
of processing applications for subsidies of up to $50,000 for North
Miami residents who are interested in first time homebuyer
assistance and purchase of units in Pioneer Gardens, made possible
through North Miami CRA’s partnership with Biscayne Landings.

At least 713 families registered during the one-month open
registration period between April 9 and May 8, 2007 that marked the
launching of North Miami CRA’s affordable housing program. Of these,
537 requested for first-time home purchase assistance, 168 were
interested in getting assistance to purchase a unit in Pioneer
Gardens at North Miami, 129 are applying for single family home
rehabilitation assistance, and 173 were interested in affordable
rental housing.

“Based on the information contained on the registration forms, of
the 713 families that registered for North Miami CRA affordable
housing services, 401 (56.2%) were Haitian, 217 (30.4%) were African
American, 47 (6.6%) were Hispanic, 31 (4.3%) were White and 13
(1.8%) were Asian. More than 91% of the registrants have a household
income of $50,000 or less.

“We are all committed to improving the quality of life of North
Miami residents by revitalizing the City’s physical, economic,
educational and social resources,” says North Miami CRA Executive
Director Tony Crapp, Sr.

“This is a great opportunity for us to reach out to the North Miami
residents, and give them the tools that they need to attain their
American dream of homeownership,” says Marc Williams, Housing
Program consultant for NANAY Housing Resource Center.

Subsidies are also available for single family home rehabilitation
assistance . Those who are interested in single-family home
rehabilitation will be reviewed by the North Miami CRA after it has
provided assistance to a group of approximately 54 prior applicants
that are on a City of North Miami waiting list for single-family
rehabilitation assistance as per a priority status approved by the
North Miami CRA Board.

The Homebuyer Training Program is an initiative by Housing
Partnership of North Miami funded by North Miami CRA through its
affordable housing program, and supported by First American
Homeownership Foundation, HSBC Mortgage Corporation and M-CAR
Consultants and Associates, Inc.

NANAY Community Development Corporation (NANAY-CDC) is an affiliate
of NANAY, Inc. (National Alliance to Nurture the Aged and the Youth)
that was established in 1994 to promote the health, welfare and well
being of elders and youth. NANAY-CDC was incorporated in 2004, and
now operates the NANAY Housing Resource Center (NHRC) at 659 NE 125
Street, North Miami, FL 33161 to provide affordable housing and
financial literacy programs, and to serve as a one-stop center for
people with housing-related needs.

Little Haiti Housing Association (LHHA) launched a Home Ownership
Program in 1990, and soon became one of the most successful
community development corporations (CDC’s) in the Miami area. As a
not-for-profit community development corporation, LHHA provides a
continuum of financial, technical, construction and educational
services to residents with the opportunity and skills to rebuild and
strengthen their neighborhoods.

The Neighborhood Housing Services (NHS) was organized in 1978 by
residents, lenders, and county government representatives of the
West Little River neighborhood of Miami-Dade County. NHS is a
501(c)(3) community development corporation and a member of the
NeighborWorks® network, founded by the Neighborhood Reinvestment
Corporation, a public corporation chartered by Congress. NHS is
committed to promoting neighborhood revitalization and affordable
housing for low-to-moderate income residents in Miami-Dade County.